DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



THE 
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE 



REPORT PREPARED FOR 

THE COMMISSION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

TO THE BRAZIL CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION 



wm 




For Distribution at the Brazil Centennial Exposition 
1922-1923 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1922 



11961—22- 



--■*14!ti<^| 






^ 






... 







DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



THE 
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE 



V 



Supplementing Exhibit 

of the 

UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE 

at the 

BRAZIL CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

1922-1923 



V 



By 
Herbert A. Smith 

United Stales Forest Service 






LIBRARY OF CONQWSS 

JAN23ma 



« 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 



The chief forest work of the Government of the United States of 
North America is in charge of the Federal Department of Agriculture. 
This is because the science of forestry is essentially a branch of agri- 
culture, for it has to do with the growing of successive crops of timber 
from the soil. It is also closely related to other lines of work in the same 
department, particularly entomology and plant diseases. 

The administration of the national forests is directly in charge of the 
Forest Service, which is a bureau of the Department of Agriculture. 




Wood and water at Nature's source of supply. 

Its chief is designated "The Forester." Besides administering the 
the national forests, the Service also makes investigations in the interest 
of the best use of the forests and forest products of the country generally. 
The problems involved in the administration of the national forests 
are fundamentally agricultural. When forestry is practiced, timber 
becomes a crop produced from the soil under methods which must be 
developed scientifically, as other branches of agriculture are developed. 
In all countries where forestry is an important governmental activity 
it is grouped with agriculture. Right handling of the forest ranges is 
a problem of animal husbandry and forage-plant production. Grazing 
on the national forests is already largely supplemental to ranching, 



2 THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

through its provision of summer feeding grounds for local farm live 
stock; and under the administration of the Department of Agriculture 
it will grow more so as settlers increase in number. The present grazing 
policy and the agricultural lands policy of the Forest Service promote 
settlement. Water conservation has in view the interests of irrigation 
farmers. Forestry and agriculture are interwoven and akin. 

The keynote of national forest administration in the United States 
of North America is service. The object aimed at is* best use of the 
many resources of the forests in the interest of the public welfare. From 
the standpoint of material wealth the forests have their greatest impor- 
tance as sources of supply of wood, water, and range forage. Because 
they are largely confined to the mountainous areas where there are 
streams and lakes, and oftentimes wild life, the national forests have 
also a great and growing value to the country as places of recreation. 
Not only are they open to all persons for all lawful purposes; the prime 
object always held in view is to make them more useful to more people. 
Naturally they are of greatest benefit to the local residents near them 
and to the States in which they lie, but they are useful also to the whole 
Nation in ways that are not always realized. 

Most of the national forests are located in the mountainous regions of 
the country, where the preservation of tree growth is of great importance. 
From the hardwoods of the southern Appalachians to the spruces of the 
White Mountains in New England, from the piiion and juniper stands 
where tree growth begins in the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico 
to the pine and fir forests of the Canadian line in Montana and Idaho, 
from the brush-covered foothills of the San Jacinto and San Bernardino 
Mountains in southern California to the vast softwood stands of the 
Olympics and Cascades in northern Washington, the national forests 
lie mainly on the mountain slopes. Even along the Alaskan shore, 
where the Tongass and Chugach Forests form a tattered ribbon 600 
miles long from the southern tip of the territory to within sight of Mount 
McKinley, the valuable Sitka spruce and hemlock growth clothes the 
lower flanks of the coastal mountains. In these rugged regions of the 
country permanent forests will make the land of highest service. 

The timber, water, grazing, recreational opportunities, and other 
resources of the national forests are for the use of the people of the 
United States. They contribute largely to industrial enterprises through 
their yearly cut of about one hundred million cubic feet of timber, mostly 
used by sawmills and mines, protect watersheds of about one-third of 
the water-power resources of the Nation and the pure and abundant 
water supplies of a thousand towns and cities, furnish pasturage for 
nearly 15,000,000 head of sheep, cattle, horses, and hogs of all ages. 
The forests also afford playgrounds for millions of recreation seekers, to 
whom these vacation places are made accessible by the building of roads 
and trails. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 3 

The following pages tell in a general way of the work involved in 
making them of fullest use to the public. It tells also something of other 
activities of the Forest Service conducted to bring about better use of 
North American forests and forest products generally. More detailed 
information concerning the use of these national forests and their re- 
sources may be obtained by applying to the Forest Service, United States 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, U. S. A. 

FOREST SERVICE ORGANIZATION. 

OFFICE AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 

The administration of the national forests and the conduct of all 
matters relating to forestry which have been placed upon the Department 
of Agriculture by the United States Congress are, under the direction 
of the Secretary of Agriculture, in charge of The Forester and an Asso- 
ciate Forester. The work of the Forest Ser\'ice is organized under the 
Branches of Operation, Forest Management, Grazing, Lands, Research, 
Engineering, and Public Relations. 

The Branch of Operation has general supervision of the finances, 
personnel, equipment, quarters, and supplies of the Service, and of all 
fire control and permanent improvement work on the national forests. 

The Branch of Forest Management supervises the sale and cutting of 
timber on the national forests and reforestation of denuded land, and 
cooperates with States in protecting forest lands from fire under the 
Weeks law. 

The Branch of Grazing supervises the grazing of live stock upon the 
national forests, allotting grazing privileges and dividing the ranges be- 
tween dift'erent owners and classes of stock. It is also charged with the 
work of improving depleted grazing areas and of cooperating with the 
Federal and State authorities in the enforcement of stock quarantine 
regulations. 

The Branch of Lands examines and classifies lands within the national 
forests to determine their value for forest purposes; conducts the work 
in connection with claims on the national forests prior to proceedings 
before United States registers and receivers; and has general supervision 
over the use and occupancy of national forest lands under special-use 
permits, the development of recreational resources within the national 
forests, the exchanges of national forest lands and timber for lands in 
private ownership within the national forests, and the administrative 
work connected with the purchase of forest lands in the eastern United 
States. 

The Branch of Research has supervision over the investigative work 
of the Service, including silvicultural studies, studies of State forest 
conditions, investigations of the lumber and wood-using industries and 
lumber prices, and the investigative work carried on at the Forest Prod- 
ucts Laboratory and the forest experiment stations. 



4 THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

The Branch of Engineering administers water-power permits and 
easements granted prior to the passage of the Federal water power act, 
and makes such power investigations and reports as are requested by the 
Federal Power Commission. It is also ch^- ' ith the making of such 

surveys and maps as are necessary tr ^ onal forest work. It 

administers for the Forest Service the proA'' ,s of the national forest 
road appropriation acts and supervises the c- " cruction of such roads and 
trails as are handled by the Forest. Service. Practically all civil- 
engineering work in the Service is now handle'-' •• this branch. 

The Branch of Public Relations devises ar -v^flops means of contact 
with the public, to the end that the ser^'ice? „h the Forest Service is 
prepared to render may be better known n re generally made use of. 

These means include official publications, information for the press, 
information and material for use in schools, and forestry exhibits and 
motion pictures. The branch gives particular attention to enlisting the 
cooperation of the public in the prevention an . control of forest fires. 

To facilitate the administration' of the national forests, eight field 
districts have been established, with a district forester in charge of each. 

THE FORESTS FOR oE. 

The policy under which the national fore?ts are administered by the 
Department of Agriculture through the Forest "^ervice is to make them 
of the most use to the most people, but especially to the man of small 
means and the local farmer and settler. They were meant, first of all, 
to enable the people to build homes and to maintain them. This policy 
was laid down by the Secretary of Agriculture in a letter to The Forester, 
dated February i, 1905, in which he said: 

"In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in 
mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the per- 
manent good of the whole people and not for the temporary benefit of 
individuals or companies. All the resources of the forest reserves are for 
use, and this must be brought about in a thoroughly prompt and business- 
like manner, under such restrictions only as will insure the permanence of 
these resources. * * * You will see to it that the water, wood, and 
forage of the reserves are conserved and wisely used for the benefit of the 
home builder first of all, upon whom depends the best permanent use of 
lands and resources alike. The continued prosperity of the agricultural, 
lumbering, mining, and live-stock interests is directly dependent upon a 
permanent and accessible supply of water, wood, and forage, as well as 
upon the present and future use of these resources under business-like 
regulations enforced with promptness, effectiveness, and common sense 
In the management of each reserve local questions will be decided upon 
local grounds, the dominant industry will be considered first, but with as 
little restriction to minor industries as may be possible ; sudden changes 
in industrial conditions will be avoided by gradual adjustment after due 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 




:j 



iivAAAl.- ui- lUolilUK iNATLRU A\L> Li>^i.i. oAil. 
Recreation ranks among the major services performed by the national forests. Each year several million 
i health and recreation seekers visit them, summer-home sites are leased, camping is free and generally 
I requires no.permit. 

11961—22 2 



6 THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

notice, and where conflicting interests must be reconciled the question 
will always be decided from the standpoint of the greatest good to the 
greatest number in the long run." 

Lands which are more valuable for agriculture than for forestry pur- 
poses have been excluded from the national forests either by changes in 
the boundaries of the forests or by being opened to settlement and entry 
under the Forest Homestead Act of June ii, 1906. The act of August 
10, 1 91 2, which directed that the national forest lands be classified for 
the purpose of determining those which are chiefly valuable for agricul- 
ture, has resulted in practically all agricultural lands within the national 
forests being listed for homestead entry in the United States land offices. 

To the camper, sportsrrian, and seeker after health, rest, and recrea- 
tion, the national forests ofifer unrivaled opportunities for outdoor life 
and enjoyment. The popularity of these great mountain playgrounds 
of the United States is evidenced by the fact that several million people 
visit them each year. Roads and trails, marked by signs, make the 
forests reasonably accessible. There are countless secluded spots along 
the banks of streams and lakes where the camper may pitch his tent. 
Camping is free and generally requires no permit. The camper may 
choose his own camp ground and help himself to dead wood for fuel and 
to forage for his camp stock. In localities frequented by large numbers 
of people "recreation areas" are being established by the Forest Service, 
and log shelters, camp fireplaces, and comfort stations constructed for 
the convenience of visitors as fast as the funds made available by Congress 
permit. Big game is to be found in the more secluded parts of the 
mountains, and there are many excellent trout streams and lakes, yearly 
restocked with young fish, which offer keen sport to the angler. The 
only restrictions for sportsmen within the national forests are those 
imposed by the fish and game laws of the States in which the forests 
are located, and all that is asked of the visitor is that he look to the 
proper sanitation of his camp and be careful with fire. 

Many people who visit the national forests desire to return year after 
year to the same locality for an annual vacation. To meet this demand 
Congress, by the act of March 4, 1915, authorized the Secretary of Agri- 
culture to issue term permits to "responsible persons or associations to 
use and occupy suitable spaces or portions of ground in the national 
forests for the construction of summer homes, hotels, stores, or other 
structures needed for recreation or public convenience, not exceeding 
five acres to any one person or association." 

The Forest Service wishes to accommodate as many people on the 
national forests as practicable. For this reason tracts desirable for 
summer-home purposes, except in unusual instances, are limited to one 
acre or less in area, and term permits run for a period of from 5 to 15 
years, with privilege of renewal. The annual rental charge for lands 
occupied for summer homes varies from $5 to $25, depending on the 
location. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 




THE RANGER'S FINISHING TOUCH. 

Lodgepole pine ties piled for shipping. The ranger is stamping the ties with the Forest Service marking 

hatchet, which bears the impression "U. S." and indicates the official count. 




HARVESTING THE FOREST CROP. 
The Government sells ripe timber on the national forests. Trees to be cut are marked in advance by a 
forest officer. Enough of the younger trees are left for a later cut or to seed the ground for a new crop. 
Logging slash must be piled and burned in favorable weather. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 




When the grazing season opens on a forest, the ranger counts sheep and cattle as they come up out of the 
valleys to use the national forest range. 




FOR PASTURES NEW. 

Timber is not the only crop of the national forests. Their ranges afford pasturage for nearly 15,000,000 

head of stock of all ages. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 



On a few of the smaller national forests no permits for private summer 
homes are granted because of the limited amount of Government land 
available and because there are private lands near by which may be 
leased or purchased. General use, through the reservation of open 
camp grounds, is always given first consideration. Special use by indi- 
viduals who pay rental has been made secondary to the needs of the 
public. 

Permission to occupy national forest land for residential, commercial, 
or industrial purposes not inimical to the protection and management of 
the national forests may be secured under special-use permits obtainable 
upon payment of moderate fees. 

Closely related to the development of recreational facilities is the use 
of the national forests as the habitat of fish and game. Wild life adds 
materially to the enjoyment of the national forests by the public, and 
the preservation of game animals, birds, and fish is a public duty. Game 
protection is one of the regular activities of the field officers of the Forest 
Service. Cooperation with the State and local authorities in enforcing 
the game laws has contributed in no small degree toward making the 
national forests more attractive to visitors and conserving one of their 
valuable resources. 

Special acts of Congress have designated several national game pre- 
serves, situated wholly or in part within national forests, for the protec- 
tion of wild life. 

By act of June 8, 1906, the Congress of the United States provided for 
the protection of clifif dwellings, pueblo ruins, ancient rock paintings, 
unique topographic or geologic features, historic landmarks, groves of 
rare trees in danger of destruction, and other objects of historic and 
scientific interest on lands controlled by the Goverment, and authorized 
the President to create, by proclamation, national monuments for their 
preservation. When a national monument is created within a national 
forest, it is under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, which cooperates 
with the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution 
in protecting it and securing information regarding such objects. The 
following national monuments are situated within national forests: 



Name. 


National forest. 


State. 


Bandelier 


Santa Fe 

Sierra 


New Mexico 


Devil Post Pile 


California. 


Gila Cliff Dwellings 


Gila 


New Mexico. 


Jewel Cave 


Harney 


South Dakota. 


Lehman Caves 


Nevada 


Nevada. 


Old Kassaan 


Tongass 


Alaska. 


Mount Olympus 


Ol^^mpic 


Washington. 


Oregon Caves 


Siskiyou 


Oregon. 


Tonto 


Tonto 


Arizona. 


Walnut Canyon 


Coconino 


Do. 




fCochetopa 


[Colorado. 


Wheeler 


\Rio Grande 









lO THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

Ripe standing timber on the forests, of which there is a large amount, is 
sold at a fair price. Anybody may purchase timber, but no one can 
obtain a monopoly of it or hold it for speculative purposes. The Govern- 
ment is anxious to sell the mature timber on the forests, because it is no 
longer growing at a profitable rate and should give way to young trees 
and seedlings which will insure continuous production. The fewest pos- 
sible restrictions are imposed upon purchasers of timber, only such as 
will insure cut-over areas being left in the best condition for future 
growth. Experienced Government woodsmen estimate the quantity and 
quality of the standing national forest timber and its approximate value 
as a basis for the price to be charged. Bids are then obtained through 
public advertisement, unless the amount is small enough to come within 
the limit which can be sold without advertisement. The trees to be cut 
on a Government sale area are marked in advance by a forest officer, the 
object being to leave enough of the younger trees to seed the ground and 
form the basis of a second crop of timber to be cut on the same land. This 
is merely applying the principles of practical forestry to make sure that 
there will always be timber on the national forests to cut. Timber on 
the watersheds of streams is not cut to an extent that will impair the 
protective cover that the forests aflFords, be.cause one of the chief objects 
of the national forests is to regulate stream flow. 

Small sales of timber for use nearby the national forests are encouraged. 
This is one of the ways in which the national forests are made to serve 
the small lumberman and consumer. Though single sales have been made 
for as much as 800,000,000 board feet (roughly 100,000,000 cubic feet), 
over nine-tenths of the sales are for $100 worth of timber or less. Of the 
12,570 timber sales on the national forests in the fiscal year 192 1, 12,236 
were of this latter kind. 

Homestead settlers and farmers may obtain national forest timber for 
their own use at the actual cost of making the sale. No charge is made 
for the timber itself. This is one of the ways in which the national 
forests are made to serve local residents. 

Along with the timber on the national forests there is a great deal of 
grazing land, and this is used at present by over 7,000,000 sheep and goats 
and 2,000,000 cattle, horses, and swine every year, in addition to their 
natural increase. Local settlers and stockmen have the first right to 
the use of the range, just as in the case of the other resources, and every 
man who grazes stock on the forests under permit is allotted a certain 
area for the grazing season. Unfair competition between the big man 
and the little man, which in the earlier days of the western United States 
worked so much harm, is done away with. A good supply of forage 
year after year is insured by not allowing the land to be overcrowded with 
stock. Under regulation overgrazed range is improved, instead of being 
further run down or denuded, as has been the case with many of the out- 
side public lands. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 



II 




THE HOSPITABLE ROAD. 

The United States Forest Service has cooperated in the construction of approximately s.ooo miles of roads 

and has built nearly 20,000 miles of trails during its administration of the national forests. 



12 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 




THE BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. 
The airman often locates a fire before the smoke betrays it to the lookout beyond the intervening ranges. 




THE MAN ON TOP. 
From the top of some lofty peak the lookout keeps watch for signs of smoke in the far-away valleys, 
telephone connects him with the nearest ranger station. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 1 3 

Mineral deposits within national forests, except such forests as were 
purchased under the act of March i, 191 1, are open to development 
exactly as on unreserved public land. A prospector can go anywhere 
he chooses and stake a claim wherever he finds any evidence of valuable 
minerals. Prospectors may obtain a certain amount of national forest 
timber free of charge to be used in developing their claims, and in other 
ways the Forest Service gives the mining man all the help it can. As to 
deposits of coal, oil, and gas, permits to prospect for and leases to develop 
must be secured through the United States Department of the Interior. 

Along the streams within the national forests are many sites suitable 
for development of electricity. These areas are open to occupancy for 
such purposes and have the advantage of being on streams whose head- 
waters are protected. The Government does not permit the monopoliza- 
tion of power in any region or allow power sites to be held without prompt 
development. Utilization and development of water powers in the 
national forests are encouraged. The Federal Power Commission of the 
United States is by law permitted to issue licenses for periods of not to 
exceed 50 years, and such licenses may be renewed under certain con- 
ditions. 

The law authorizes the commission, other factors being equal, to 
give preference to applications by States and municipalities, and between 
other applicants the commission may give preference to the project 
which is best adapted to develop, conserve, and utilize the navigation 
and water resources of the region. 

To make the national forests fully useful to the public, and also to 
facilitate their administration and protection as Government properties, 
it is necessary to build on them various classes of improvements. Some 
of these are primarily for official use, as, for example, fire lookout sta- 
tions, ranger stations, and telephone lines. Incidentally, many of the 
improvements of this class are of material service to the public. Other 
improvements are purely for the benefit of specific forms of public use, 
as, for example, drift fences, stock-watering places, and public camp 
grounds. Still others are put in both to facilitate the task of adminis- 
tering and protecting the forests and to promote use and serve the 
interests of the public generally. 

Roads and trails are of course necessary for efficient protection of 
the forests against fire, to enable forest officers to get about in the per- 
formance of their tasks, and to open up the forests for users; but they 
are also a great public convenience and necessity. The Forest Service 
cooperates with State and county officials, good-roads organizations, 
and private individuals in the location, survey, construction, and main- 
tenance of roads in the national forests. The road and trail construction 
work is financed from appropriations imder four different acts of 
Congress. 



14 THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

These funds may be expended within the national forests without 
requiring cooperative contributions from the States or counties, but if 
part of the work lies outside of the forest boundaries it is necessary that 
the cooperative funds be provided. Through cooperative arrangement 
the road projects which require the supervision of engineers intensively 
trained in highway engineering and construction are handled by the 
Bureau of Public Roads. The numerous road improvement and repair 
projects required primarily for administrative and protective needs on 
the national forests, together with trail building and maintenance, are 
handled directly by the Forest Service and coordinated with fire control 
as far as possible so that construction crews may be available in remote 
areas of great fire hazard as part of the fire-suppression organization. 
Twenty-five per cent of all receipts from national forests are returned 
by the Federal Treasury to the counties in which they lie, to be used 
for schools and roads. Under one of the acts of Congress lo per cent 
is expended by the Secretary of Agriculture upon roads and trails con- 
structed primarily for the benefit of settlers within the national forests. 

For the complete and economical use of the forage on the forests it 
is sometimes necessary to develop water or to construct drift fences, 
bridges, trails, or other works. The Forest Service allots funds for their 
construction only when the benefit to the forest plainly warrants the 
expenditure. The use of funds for these purposes can often be made 
more effective if the assistance and cooperation of interested stockmen 
can be secured. 

PROTECTION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 

FIRE DANGER. 

Fire is an ever-present danger on the national forests. The great 
size of the national forests compared with the number of the regular 
patrol force, the difficulty of reaching remote areas across miles of 
wilderness, the dry atmosphere and light rainfall in parts of the West, 
the prevalence of lightning in the mountains, and the constant use of 
fire in the daily life of the people and in the industries all combine to 
make the hazard exceptional. 

Among the chief causes that start forest fires are lightning, campers, 
railroads, slash burning, incendiarism, and steam sawmills. 

A small fire may spread into a conflagration. Fires, matches, and 
burning tobacco should be used as carefully in the forest as they are in a 
house. Carelessness in this respect may mean the loss of lives, houses, 
stock, and forage, and of a vast amount of timber which belongs equally 
to all citizens. 

Fires may start in a region remote from supplies and water and reach 
vast proportions before a party of fire fighters can get to the scene, no 
matter how promptly the start is made. By far the best plan, therefore. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 



15 




A MILLION SPARK POWER. 
You can prevent the omftagratian requiring hundreds to fight. Break your match in two. Stamp out pii^e 
ashes, cigar butts, cijjarette stubs. Quench your camp fire before you leave it. Burn your brush in 
favorable weather. 



i6 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 




A SOURCE OF "WHITE COAL" AND "LIQUID GOLD." 
The forest cover has a very decided influence on the purity and abundance of water supply for power, for 
irrigation, for domestic use. Many communities have entered into cooperative agreements with the 
United States Forest Service for the better protection of the watersheds from which they get their 
suppHes. 



THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 1 7 

is to prevent fires rather than to depend upon fighting them once they 
start. This subject has been given the most earnest attention by the 
Forest Service. During the danger season the main attention of super- 
visors and rangers is devoted to preventing fire. Extra men are em- 
ployed, the forests are systematically patrolled, and a careful lookout 
for fire is maintained from high points. Roads and trails are being built 
so that all parts of the forests may be quickly reached. Tools and food 
for the use of fire fighters are stored at convenient places. The ranger 
stations and lookout points are connected with the offices of the super- 
visors by telephone, so that men may be quickly collected to fight danger- 
ous fires which the patrolmen can not put out alone. 

During the fire seasons of 1919, 1920, and 1921 the Air Service of the 
United States Army and the Forest Service cooperated in the experimental 
use of the airplane as a supplement to the lookout system in the prompt 
detection of forest fires. Flying definite routes over the national forests, 
the airplane observer scanned the country within view looking for the 
tiny wisp of smoke which denotes the outbreak of fire. If a forest fire 
was discovered, the alarm was then wirelessed to the nearest fire-fighting 
headquarters, from which men were dispatched immediately. It has 
been found that with the airplane supplementing the lookouts the period 
of time between the origin of the fire and the arrival of the crew of fire 
fighters is in many cases greatly reduced, resulting in smaller burned 
acreages and consequently a smaller loss. 

The cooperation of all forest users is earnestly sought in the work of 
preventing and controlling fire. This can be accomplished by exercising 
all care not to cause fires and by informing the nearest forest supervisor 
or ranger of any fire which may be discovered. 

The following simple rules for the handling of fire in the mountains are 
suggested to all users of the forests which, if followed, will very materially 
assist in the protection of the forests: 

1. Matches. — Be sure your match is out. Break it in two before you 
throw it away. 

2. Tobacco. — Throw pipe ashes and cigar or cigarette stumps in the 
dust of the road and stamp or pinch out the fire before leaving them. 
Do not throw them into brush, leaves, or needles. 

3. Making camp. — Build a small camp fire. Build it in the open, not 
against a tree or log or near brush. Scrape away the trash from all 
around it. 

4. Leaving camp. — Never leave a camp fire, even for a short time, with- 
out quenching it with water or earth. 

5. Bonfires. — Never build bonfires in windy weather or where there is 
the slightest danger of their escaping from control. Do not make them 
larger than you need. 

6. Fighting fires. — If you find a fire, try to put it out. If you can not, 
get word of it to the nearest United States forest ranger or State firewarden 
at once. Keep in touch with the rangers. 



I 8 UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

Since practically 60 per cent of the forest fires of known causes in the 
United States are due to human agencies, the most energetic efforts 
have been made to bring home to the American public the importance 
of care to prevent fires in the forest. The Forest Service is earnestly 
seeking to lessen the number of man-caused fires in this way. As recrea- 
tional use of the forests by the public increases and the local population 
and activities of all kinds on and near the forests become greater, man- 
caused fires are bound to become more numerous unless educational 
methods can be made effective. The observance of forest fire-prevention 
week has become general throughout the United States during the past 
three years and is bringing to public attention the importance of pre- 
venting fires and the precautions which it is necessary to observe in 
order not to cause fires. 

PROTECTION OF WATER SUPPLY. 

Undoubtedly the greatest value of the mountain ranges of the country, 
most of which are within national forests, lies in their influence upon the 
regularity of the water supply. In many of the States the mountains 
afford the main water supply for domestic use, for irrigation, and for the 
development of power. The future development of the entire United 
States, therefore, will depend upon the amount of water and the manner 
in which it flows from the mountains. 

The vegetal covering has a very decided influence on run-off. For 
this reason Congress made the preservation of conditions favorable to 
stream flow one of the principal objects in the establishment and admin- 
istration of the national forests of the United States. 

PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH. 

Precautions are taken by forest officers to protect the public health. 
All persons on national forest lands are liable to trespass proceedings if 
insanitary conditions result from their presence. Forest officers enforce 
compliance with regulations on the part of all campers, stockmen, 
permittees, and other persons traveling through or occupying national 
forest lands. 

RECEIPTS FROM NATIONAL FORESTS. 

The total net receipts from the national forests on account of sales 
of timber, fees, for grazing of live-stock and for privilege of using Govern- 
ment land during the fiscal years 19 16 to 192 1, inclusive, were as follows: 

1916 $2, 823 , 541 

1917 3.457.028 

1918 3,574,930 

1919 4.358.415 

1920 4,793,482 

192 1 4,468,940 



UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 1 9 

It could not be expected, of course, that rugged, inaccessible mountain 
lands, such as constitute by far the greater part of the national forests, 
would soon yield a revenue to the Government over and above the cost 
of administration. Many of the forests are meant to supply the coun- 
try's future needs for timber, after the more accessible lands have been 
cut over, rather than its present needs, while others are chiefly valuable 
for watershed protection, which, though of the greatest importance to 
the people and industries of the country, do not yield the Government a 
return in dollars and cents. In the case of almost every forest, more- 
over, a great deal of money must be spent for roads, trails, bridges, and 
telephone lines before the resources can be used. Nevertheless, 91 of 
the national forests paid their local operating costs in 1920. 

• QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES OF FOREST OFFICERS. 

All permanent positions in the Forest Service are in the classified civil 
service. Vacancies are filled through selections from eligibles certified 
by the United States Civil Service Commission and by promotion in rank. 

Each national forest is in charge of a forest supervisor, who plans the 
work on his forest under the instructions of the district forester and 
supervises its execution. When the amount of business on a national 
forest warrants it, the supervisor is assisted by a deputy supervisor, who 
has such duties and authority as may be delegated to him by the super- 
visor. 

Forest supervisors and deputy supervisors have to be men of experience 
in woods work, road and trail building, the stock business, and in all 
other lines of work carried on in the national forests ; so the positions are 
always filled by the promotion or transfer of experienced men from 
other classified positions in the Forest Service. Supervisors' headquarters 
are located in towns conveniently situated with regard to the forests. 

Forest assistants are employed in the various subordinate lines of 
technical and administrative work on the forests under the direction of 
the supervisor. The position of forest assistant is filled through a tech- 
nical examination. 

After a probationary period of not less than two years, forest assistants 
who have rendered satisfactory service are given the designation of forest 
examiners and assigned to such work as examining and mapping forest 
areas, designating timber to be cut in sales, surveying boundaries, and 
conducting nursery work and forest planting. 

Every national forest is divided into ranger districts, with a district 
ranger in charge of each. Rangers perform the routine work involved in 
the supervision of sales of timber, use of the range by live stock, and the 
free use of timber, and use by private persons of Government land. The 
ranger also helps to build roads, trails, bridges, telephone lines, and other 
permanent improvements on the forests. Physical soundness and endur- 
ance are essential on account of the heavy labor and exposure involved 



20 UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

in such work as building improvements and fighting fire. The forest 
ranger must also know how to pack supplies and find food for himself and 
his horse in a country where it is often scarce. The position of forest 
ranger is filled through a civil-service examination, in which applicants 
are rated on the basis of a written test and also according to their expe- 
rience and fitness. 

In addition to the different classes of forest officers mentioned, logging 
engineers, lumbermen, scalers, and planting assistants are employed on 
the forests in the work of timber appraisal, cruising, scaling, and forest 
planting. Like all other permanent employees they are appointed only 
after a civil-service examination. 

Forest guards are temporary employees appointed during the seasons 
of greatest fire danger. 

On July I, 1 92 1, the force employed by the Forest Service numbered 
4,238. Of these, about 3,289 were employed upon the national forests 
as supervisors, deputy supervisors, rangers, guards, etc., and 949 were 
engaged in administrative, scientific, and clerical work at the Washing- 
ton and the eight district headquarters and the Forest Products Lab- 
oratory. 

FOREST OFFICERS AND THE PUBLIC. 

When one wishes to make any use of the resources of the national 
forests for which a permit is required he should consult the nearest forest 
officer. Supervisors, rangers, and other forest officers carry out the ad- 
ministrative policy prescribed for the national forests by Congress, as 
embodied in the regulations made by the Secretary of Agriculture. 
Forest officers of the United States are agents of the people and their 
duty is to assist the public in making use of the resources of the forests. 
They aim to prevent misunderstanding and violation of forest regulations 
by timely and tactful advice rather than to follow up violations by the 
exercise of their authority. Forest users aid greatly in the efficient 
performance of the public business by according to forest officers the 
same frankness, consideration, and courtesy which the forest officers are 
expected to show them. 

THE EXTENSION OF FORESTRY PRACTICE. 

While the greatness of the national forest enterprise of the United 
States and the prominence accorded its accomplishments have been un- 
usual, there still remains much to be accomplished before the problem 
of forestry in North America is solved. The Government-owned na- 
tional forests contain only about one-sixth of the forest area of the United 
States, and little more than one-fifth of the standing saw timber. Pri- 
vate owners hold seven-tenths of the timberland of the United States. 
The amount of material which is actually placed on the market from the 
national forests amounts to only about 3 per cent of the entire consump- 



UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 



21 




A JOB FOR EVERY SEASON. 

The overflow\from summer work, as well as the tasks appropriate to the winter weather, keep the forest 

officer busy in the snow-carpeted woods. 



22 UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

tion of the country. The remainder comes from private lands. While 
the proportion will be altered in the future, the country must still look to 
private lands for a large part of its forest supplies. 

The public forestry in the United States has made vast strides ; but the 
forests of the country that are in private hands are being depleted with 
very great rapidity, and almost everything without effort to renew them. 
A grave situation is becoming manifest in various ways, and the problem 
presented is one that can be solved only by public action. The general 
practice of forestry on privately owned lands in the United States will not 
take place through unstimulated private initiative. 

A study made in 1920 by the Forest Service, in response to a Senate 
resolution calling for a report on timber depletion, lumber prices, lumber 
exports, and concentration of timber ownership, showed that over two- 
thirds of the original forests of the United States have been culled, cut 
over, or burned, and that three-fifths of their merchantable timber is 
gone. The country is losing about 26,000,000,000 cubic feet of wood 
annually from its forests and is growing but 6,000,000,000 feet. Every 
class of timber is being cut, even trees too small for the sawmill, much 
faster than it is being replaced. 

There are still large supplies of timber in the United States, but they 
are not in the right place. Sixty-one per 'cent of what is left lies west of 
the Great Plains, far from the bulk of the population, agriculture, and 
factories. The distance between the average sawmill and the average 
home builder is steadily increasing, and the United States shall soon be 
dependent for the bulk of its construction lumber upon the forests along 
the Pacific coast. 

FOREST RESEARCH. 

Besides administering the national forests, the Forest Service conducts 
many investigations relating to the protection, growth, and management 
of forests, to the utilization of their products, and to their place in the 
economic life of the Nation. The research work is not limited to prob- 
lems which directly concern the management of the national forests. 
Its object is to promote the best use of the forest resources of the United 
States, whether in public or private ownership. This means both the 
general practice of forestry and the most intelligent use of forest products 
of all kinds, especially wood products. The investigations concern 
forest management, grazing, forest products, and forest economics. 

Investigations in forest management aim at obtaining more thorough 
knowledge of the forest resource and its benefits. At various forest 
experiment stations intensive studies are made of such things as the rates 
of growth and requirements of the different tree species, what methods of 
cutting will be followed by the best reproduction of the most desirable 
kinds of trees under varying conditions, the best methods of nursery 
practice and of field sowing and planting, and how best to protect the 



UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 23 

forests from fire and other damaging agencies. The relation of forests to 
climate, stream flow, and erosion are also investigated. The forest ex- 
periment stations are so located as to afford a wide range of conditions in 
different parts of the country. They are supplemented by diversified 
field studies which round out a systematic search for the basic knowledge 
required to make our forests fully productive. 

Similarly, the investigations in forest economics furnish information 
promotive of forestry and the best adjustment of supply and demand 
through inquiries that throw light on market requirements, prices, and 
tendencies, and on probable future needs as the country growls. Statis- 
tics are collected on the prices of lumber and other important forest 
products, and on the use of the products by the various industries. 
Studies are made of current economic conditions in the wood-using 
industries, including such factors as production, consumption, stocks on 
hand, exports and imports, labor problems, and transportation. Data 
are secured on the forest resources of North and South America and other 
countries, the effect of timber depletion on industrial and community 
development, the relation between forest taxation and the practice of 
forestr}'', and similar economic problems. 

Grazing investigations have to do ^vith improving the annual crop of 
grasses and forage plants and securing the fullest and best use of this re- 
source. Studies are made of artificial and natural reseeding of the range; 
of the feed value of the various forage plants, and where they grow; of 
the best methods of handHng stock on the range; of water development 
for stock and the relation between the frequency of watering places and 
the welfare of the range and the stock; of the eradication of poisonous 
plants; and of the effect of grazing on forest reproduction, on erosion, 
and on stream flow. These investigations are both experimental and gen- 
eral. Experimental work is carried on mainly at the Great Basin 
Forest Experiment Station on the Manti National Forest in Utah, the 
Jornada Range Reserve in New Mexico, and the Santa Rita Range Re- 
serve in southern Arizona. The general studies concern the actual man- 
agement of the range, and are made where particular problems come up 
in connection with grazing on the national forests. 

In forestry it is just as important to know what to grow as how to grow, 
and just as important to make the most of what is produced as to make 
the forests produce more material for consumption. The investigations 
in forest products closely interlock with those in forest management. 
Their object is to bring production and consumption into the most ad- 
vantageous adjustment, from the standpoint of public welfare, through 
study on the one hand of the raw material that the forests produce and 
on the other hand of the requirements of our industries and their processes 
of manufacture. 



24 UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 

The bulk of this work on forest products is centered at the Forest 
Products Laboratory at Madison, State of Wisconsin, maintained in 
cooperation with the University of Wisconsin. 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION ABOUT WOODLANDS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. 

The Forest Service does all that it can to put its information at the 
service of the public and get what it has found out into practice. Besides 
publishing its results in helpful, practical form, it furnishes information, 
advice, and cooperation to the extent of its ability. 

Timberland owners, farmers who have woodlands, other small owners, 
and persons wishing information on tree planting for timber production, 
windbreaks, shelter belts, and the like are given such data as the Service 
has available applicable to their special needs. For the benefit of 
farmers and other small owners, information has been gathered, and 
may be had on application, concerning the marketing of timber in 
relatively small quantities. By devoting land of relatively low agri- 
cultural value to timber growing, applying intelligent methods of pro- 
duction, and marketing to advantage, many farmers could add sub- 
stantially to their income. In those States which have State foresters, 
however, these officers are ordinarily better sources of information 
regarding local conditions and the best methods of forestry practice for 
the individual to use than is the Forest Service. Applicants for in- 
formation and advice who are residents of such States are therefore 
customarily referred to the proper State official for better attention to 
their specific needs. 

Information on such matters as the properties and uses of w^ood, 
wood seasoning, and preservative treatment, and methods of obtaining 
or utilizing forest products of any kind is obtainable from the Forest 
Products Laboratory at Madison, Wis., where investigations of this 
character are centered. Cooperation is sought particularly with the 
wood-using industries for the solution of their problems and the appli- 
cation of results. Examinations may be made, on request, of the 
methods of individuals, companies, and corporations in handling forest 
products, and plans may be prepared for improved methods, if it is 
judged that this will reduce waste in utilizing forest products and will 
secure information useful generally in the industry concerned to a degree 
sufficient to justify the project. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

To facilitate widespread diffusion of useful knowledge relating to 
forests, forestry, and forest products, to promote increased use of the 
national forests, and to obtain the fullest possible cooperation of the 
North American public in their protection, the Forest Service has issued 
a large number of publications. Its purpose is to make available as 



UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE. 25 

promptly as possible, through publications, all new results of research 
work of value to scientists, foresters, timberland owners, farmers, lum- 
bermen, or the woodworking and allied industries. Some of these 
publications may be had free of charge. Others are sold, usually at a 
low price, by the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing 
Office, Washington, D. C, from whom price lists may be had free on 
application. 

PHOTOGRAPHS, I^ANTERN SI.IDES, AND EXHIBITS. 

The Forest Service has a considerable collection of photographs 
showing forest conditions and illustrative of forest utilization and 
forestry generally in all parts of the United States of America. This 
collection is open to the public for consultation. To the extent that 
the limited facilities for producing photographic work permit, photo- 
graphic prints, lantern slides, and forest maps are furnished for educa- 
tional purposes, through loan or sale. When sold the charge made is 
required by law to be cost plus 10 per cent. Prints are furnished for use 
in illustrating material to be published in newspapers or other periodicals, 
and for use in book illustrations. Lantern slides and bromide enlarge- 
ments may be furnished for use in educational work by lecturers and 
schools, and for exhibit purposes. The object in every case is to dififuse 
information concerning forestry. 

Advice and assistance is given authors and publishers of textbooks 
having to do with forests and forestry, if desired. 

Traveling exhibits of the following material are lent for short periods 
of time without cost, except for transportation, to schools, libraries, 
and other educational institutions : 

1. Sets of mounted photographs illustrating the subjects of forestry, 
nature study, farm woodlands, etc. 

2. Specimens of commercial wood species, with maps and other 
information. 

3. Sets of lantern slides, accompanied by lecture outlines, on general 
forestry, the work of the Forest Service, and forestry in its relation to 
farm woodlands, nature study, geography, manual training, etc. 

The Forest Service maintains a considerable amount of material for use 
in making exhibits at agricultural fairs and expositions, both in coopera- 
tion with other bureaus of the Government and independently. A 
number of motion-picture films, showing the work on the national 
forests, are available for loans. 

Particular attention is given to enlisting the interest and cooperation 
of the public in the prevention and control of forest fires and in the 
extension of the practice of forestry by private owners, and wide use 
of the national forests is promoted by directing the preparation and 
diffusion of information having this end in view. 

o 



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